Cutting
for Stone by Abraham Verghese
($15.95) This extraordinary first novel had me in thrall from
chapter one—it’s a rare author who can plumb the horrors of civil
war and the operating theatre one moment, the vagaries of the human
heart the next moment, all with equal deftness, but Verghese rises to
the challenge with grace. With surgical precision he limns his
characters, treating even their flaws with compassion and a true
generosity of spirit, adroitly interweaving medical techniques and
philosophy into this sweeping story of family & fatherland, love
& loyalty. This is undeniably the best book I have read in several
years. ~Emily Crowe (signed copies available)
Hothouse
Flower and the Nine Plants of Desire by
Margot Berwin ($14.95) A woman recovering from a divorce reluctantly
gets involved in helping a friend search the Yucatan peninsula for nine
plants with a collective mythical power. Along the way she
encounters an ethereal orchid grower, a mystical marijuana
cultivator, and a man who will stop at nothing to get the nine plants
first. In this delightfully distracting read, the author takes us
for a romp that is equal parts romance, adventure, magical realism, and
self-discovery. It’s a colorful, frothy, well-paced novel
perfect for summer escapist reading. ~ Emily Crowe.
Honolulu by
Alan Brennert ($14.99) This beloved author of Moloka’i takes a
sweeping and probing look at a little-known period of US
history. In 1915, Jin is a young Korean “picture bride” who
risks everything to leave her homeland for Hawai’i in order to marry a
man she has never met. When his bitter cruelty drives her to run
away, she makes her way to Honolulu, finding support and friendship in
the most unlikely sources. Brennert takes a discerning look at the
hardships of being a woman in the early 20th century and at the racism
that almost destroyed what is now one of the most thriving and
harmonious multicultural metropolises in the world. A very
satisfying read. ~Emily Crowe
The
Angel’s Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
($15.95) This Faustian story follows David Martin, a young
writer burning to make his mark on the literary world, through a series
of twists that mimic the shadowy Barcelonian underworld where much
of the story takes place. Not until the very end does the reader
discover whether Martin is being driven by dark, supernatural forces or
something more mundane but equally evil. A compelling read. ~Emily
Crowe
Beatrice
and Virgil
by Yann Martel ($24.00) As
with his previous book Life of Pi, Martel puts animal allegory to
good use again, layered under a very postmodern meta-fiction structure.
Ostensibly about a writer who has lost his creativity, the book is
actually an exploration of how inadequate words are to describe the
Holocaust. This novel is so haunting and provocative that I could not
stop thinking of it for days. ~Emily Crowe (signed copies
available)
The
Lonely Polygamist
by Brady Udall ($26.95) When I first heard about this book, I thought,
“Why on earth should I care about a husband who cheats on his
four wives and is loathe to face the aftermath?” But very soon after
picking it up, I realized that I did care, such is Udall’s
skill. This book is a sweeping, insightful narrative of human
nature, tapping into our collective neuroses, joys, fears, frustrations,
and needful things, our darkest as well as our brightest moments.
Told with warmth and generosity, this is a rewarding read, especially if
you are initially a skeptic like I was! ~Emily Crowe (signed
copies available)
The
Singer’s Gun
by Emily St. John
Mandel ($24.95) In her second novel, Mandel shows that the critical
success in her debut book was no fluke. She hits the literary trifecta
of compelling prose, utterly convincing characterizations, and a
universally appealing story. Having grown up along the periphery of New
York’s underworld, Anton’s final attempt to break free from his
family’s business becomes far more complicated and disastrous than
even an accomplished liar like him could anticipate. Mandel’s taut but
nuanced prose carries the reader forward and backward through Anton’s
timeline to a conclusion dappled with menace and her trademark
ambiguity. Quite the fine read. ~Emily Crowe (signed copies
available in June)
What
is Left the Daughter by
Howard Norman ($25.00) This latest offering is a quiet novel about the
sometimes-harsh realities of life in an economically depressed small
town in Canada during and just after WWII, with all of the attendant
yearnings, prejudice, small-mindedness, and dreams of escape associated
therein. When a local daughter falls in love with a German
scholar, it sets the expected tragedies in motion, leaving the rest of
the town to pick up the broken pieces. Norman’s deceptively
simple prose is poignant and fitting, as is the conclusion, reminding us
that life doesn’t often come with a Hollywood ending. ~Emily Crowe (signed
copies available in July)
I
Thought You Were Dead
by Pete Nelson ($23.95) Dante may have had his Beatrice, but Paul
Gustavson has Stella, a venerable pooch who is his guiding light for
matters of the mind and heart. Their ongoing dialogue is smart,
sweet, and poignant, and together they take on their fears of
thunderstorms and seedy bars (hers) and normal, loving relationships
without the buffer of alcohol (his), each bringing out the best in the
other. This book is clever, heartwarming, and thoroughly engaging.
It’s also set in Northampton, so there are plenty of familiar
landmarks for local readers. ~Emily Crowe (signed copies
available)
The
Woman Who Fell from the Sky
by Jennifer Steil ($26.00) What starts as a 3-week course teaching
journalism to a group of greenhorn reporters in Yemen quickly evolves
into a year-long stint as editor-in-chief of the English language
newspaper, The Yemen Observer. Bewildered and smitten in equal
measure with her new surroundings, Steil faces obstacles running the
gamut from stampedes & suicide bombings to teaching her charges how
to write without religious bias. But what intrigues this
intrepid journalist most is her status as “third gender”—as
a Westerner, she is free to mix with either men or women in a country
where the sexes are strictly segregated. A fascinating read. ~Emily
Crowe
